Sorry guys been super busy all day and since I got home! Holly next door turned 50 today and we’ve been up in her house since 5pm.
No photos but got a selfie with Rachel two doors down!
More tomorrow!!
Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️
It’s the 10th October which means it’s World Mental Health Day.
Is also already 8pm and I wish I’d prepared more for today, given the original reason for the Rambling Sloth.
These World Day’s do raise awareness but my experience is that it hasn’t really changed anything. Mental Health, in my humble opinion, is still dreadfully misunderstood and underrated.
If I cast my mind back to World Mental Health Day 2018….. I had been off sick from my senior management role for about 5 weeks. I’d been crumbling for a very long time. World Mental Health Day 2018 passed by without any big bang. Nothing. I was hanging by a thread and my work were doing a whole week of promotion about mental health. Everyone’s desktop had been changed to advertise it. I was in the house a broken wreck. It was still classed as an embarrassment. Shame. She couldn’t cope. Fell apart. People didn’t contact me or know what to say to me. That’s not fair, some did but what I meant is that it needs to be more than just a DAY and just a box ticking exercise. Businesses need to take this seriously. I took this selfie to remember one day, how badly I felt. My eyes are dead. I was so very sad, I could barely remember to clean my teeth.
There is a very good chance that what happened to me could have been due to peri-menopause. I will never truly know that.
It is what it is and I don’t have any anger left about it. I now see that I was very lucky to have experienced anxiety and depression as it’s shown me a new meaning to life. I have highs and lows but I genuinely appreciate life in the present moment. That’s huge given that I used to live my life in fear. No more.
When you are at your lowest ebb, your mind can play tricks on you. You feel so bad that you think life is pointless. You feel like you are a burden as you are sick of the thoughts inside your head. Despite wonderful family and friends, you feel like you have nowhere to turn. You can’t possibly tell them how bad you feel every time they ask. You begin to think the world would be better off without you in it. I felt like that in this photo.
You would never know. I took this photo so I could remind myself how I felt. I can actually feel a few tears welling up at the thought.
This is hard for me to revisit but I want every one to see these. (I’ve maybe shared this before) There is no obvious sign that anything is wrong. You have no idea how bad someone close to you may feel. People hide it very well. I couldn’t tell anyone for some time after as I realised how dreadful and dramatic and OTT it sounded but it’s genuinely how I felt. We took this photo an hour after. Even I think I look lovely but inside I was very depressed. I couldn’t imagine a future.
So please be kind to everyone you meet. You never know what they may be struggling with.
If you feel low just now, know that it will get better, life will improve, even if it feels hopeless right now. You have to fight for yourself. You have to find money to pay for any treatment you can get. I’ve had counselling, Health Kinesiology and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. I’ve spent thousands of pounds that we didn’t really have but I needed to. I’ve met some amazing people along the way. These people become your people.
Fight for yourself. Never give up fighting. You deserve to feel better. And you will. just take each day at a time and know that tomorrow is a new day.
Anyway, I’m rambling now, as usual.
Hope some of that makes sense.
Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️
Thankfully way more awake and switched on for the first day back at work. I could even remember some things from before my holiday…. I mean, I was impressed!!
I’ve not been in the best frame of mind if I’m honest but come on, who is first day back?!
The office was pretty spotless which was very impressive 😂
I worked till 5pm and didn’t make a dent in the work I’ve got to catch up on but I’ll get there.
I’ve been on a roll since I got home and made a lovely salad for dinner, emptied and filled the dishwasher, hung up a washing and taken Calaidh for a lovely evening walk. I left at half 6 and got chatting to our new lovely neighbours so it was dark by the time I got home!
I loved the walk in the almost dark (my friend Evelyn will get cross with me…😂😘) and Calaidh did too.
Here’s she is hiding in the burn!
It actually looks pretty light in these photos!
It’s felt good to do things in the evening. I was so lethargic yesterday…. I could barely think straight, it feels really good to be way more alert.
Musta needed it!
Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️
Oh wow I have just been shattered today. It was one of those days I knew I needed to do absolutely nothing… but I fought it for most of the morning.
I couldn’t wake up and eventually came downstairs for a coffee. This was still about 8.30 so still early. I’m fighting the end of holiday blues. The weather is atrocious and I can’t believe I’m back to work tomorrow. I could get used to the life where I wander about in hot countries. 😂
It’s a lovely time of year to go away but it does seem extra cold when you return.
Acht I’m just having one of those days.
We went for a food shopping late morning and spent £174….. there are only 2 people in our house?!? How is that even possible?
By the time we came back and put it away, Craig was watching the football and I made a lovely cheese, meat and olive type snacky lunch. I was asleep from 1.30 until 3.30. I was freezing on the couch so Craig put an extra blanket over me. I woke with a thumping headache and a hot face!!
I have zero energy and I could just keep sleeping.
I need to stop fighting it and enjoy the relaxation. It is what it is and I’m building my energy up for tomorrow. No more holidays for me until Christmas….. except for every Friday, Saturday and Sunday and I’ll do well to remember that!!
Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️
It has not stopped all day.
That’s a ridiculous statement as I look outside at 18.37 and see that it has actually stopped raining. What a day.
It’s been so dark all day we’ve needed the lights on. It’s been so wet I got SOAKED on the dog walks.
There are floods everywhere, people have got stuck in their cars and the famous Rest and be Thankful A83 is closed AGAIN due to landslides. They’ve spent millions on that road and it still slips every time there is heavy rain.
I took the pupsters out 2 by 2! (Anyone get that?!)
It was Bhru and Freya up first.
I was drenched and freezing cold after the first walk but no point in changing before the second. There’s no such thing as bad weather, only the wrong clothes…. I really didn’t have the right clothes on today!
That said it was also lovely to be outside and see the extent of the rain…. Everything is soooooo very green compared to Turkey…. Gosh I miss the sunshine…. And blue skies…. And heat!
The Windsor Waffle, my blogger friend, said that Windsor was going to be 24°C this weekend! Definitely nowhere near that up here today!
Back to the house for the two Khal/Cal’s 😆
Khaleesi’s in her jacket that they sent us from Spain…. I couldn’t get it to sit right at the back so there’s some clip I’m missing.
I was SO cold that I had to turn the shower to cold as the heat was stinging my skin.
I sat for a bit with a coffee and put the heating on then realised I needed to head to the little gift shop to buy some cards. Was good to catch up with Gayle!
Since I got home I’ve read a book and watched a movie with Craig, when he came in from work, nothing else for it on such a miserable day.
I realised I still had wet hair which probably wasn’t helping how cold I was!
I’m heading round to my friend Evelyn’s tonight to look after their dog for a wee bit while they have a family party. I’m looking forward to some Elsie cuddles and kisses!! My lot are still damp and soggy. 🤦🏻♀️😂
Stay safe everyone 💦💦💦
Back to reality, auld claes and porridge as my Grandad would say!
We finally got home about 3.30am I think, forgot to check exactly as all FOUR dogs were hiding in my newly painted living room, to surprise me!!!
First of all wow to the living room, huge well done to Craig for keeping that a secret while I was away. It’s still white but it’s too much of a feature room to have any other colour. It looks so fresh!!
One by one by one by one they came bounding out of the living room door and bombarded me with licks and cuddles!! Did I mention there were FOUR?!?!
They were SO excited!!! I had to fight my way through to get to Craig!
Also just noticed this morning how much the ivy has changed in the space of a week!
Also it’s a lot sunnier today than the day time I took a photo!
One day I will manage to take the same photo twice 🤦🏻♀️😂
So last night’s trip went really well. We sat out in the sun until 6pm…. It had actually started to get quite chilly which I suppose is a fitting end to a holiday.
I really struggle to leave somewhere when I know I will never be back there and it was so lovely! The pool looked so pretty.
The bus arrived a full half hour before it was due. We left bang on time! The drivers are foot to the floor the whole way. They seem to flash their headlights a lot to let a car in front of them know they intend to pass…. We drove sooooo fast, there were a good few hair raising moments and we were FIRST in the queue for the Jet2 flight for Glasgow. That never happens…. Well it just did but you know what I mean.
Security is pretty high in Turkey. You put all your bags through a scanner before you check in and hand your bag to the ground staff…. You are also body searched as everyone beeps through the scanner. Next is a queue for passport control. Once through that it’s Duty Free. Bodrum was the most expensive duty free I have ever seen….. Gayle was looking for Turkish delight for her daughter…. The only Turkish delight we saw was €49.60 for 4 boxes stuck together…. Special price?!?!?!?! Nearly £50 for 4 normal sized boxes of Turkish delight?!?!? Then I saw Toffifee for €5.50 a box, we can get that for £1 here!
The whiskies were astronomical. Nothing worth bringing home for Craig.
Gone are the days of cheap duty free. So I brought nothing back for anyone unfortunately.
We then went to the gate and I got bag & body searched again and swabbed for drugs never had that done before.
The plane comes in on perfect tie and we board in perfect time…. And the next news ever…. We have 3 seats to ourselves!!! Bliss.
We flew over Sofia in Bulgaria, Serbia, Budapest in Hungary. Vienna in Austria, Prague in Czech Republic, Germany, Amsterdam, over to Newcastle where we started our descent… then down over Lanark and up to Kirkintilloch before we landed in Glasgow. The pilot was very informative!!
He said the words “battling headwinds all the way”….😱 I never, ever need to know that. In all honestly, the flight was great, despite the space, I couldn’t get comfy AT ALL yet I’m certain I slept most of the way. We cannot fault Jet2 at all. The flights were bang on both legs.
Glasgow Airport had other ideas.
Upon landing, Jet2 text to warn of delays at baggage reclaim. There were several flights landing at once. We all merged into passport control at the same time. We had a fair queue there. Jet2 staff met us in baggage reclaim and apologised and kept us fully up to date. Can’t say they didn’t try to make up for it.
Gayle’s son Robbie, picked us up and took us straight home. He didn’t leave the house until we saw the first of the bags come through. It was perfect timing apart from the delay.
So yeah, back to the FOUR dogs… they were still here this morning too. 🐶🐶🐶🐶😂
I didn’t sleep in too late and I’ve been unpacking and cleaning all morning. I was on a roll.
We decided to head out to Gro Coffee in Irvine for a late lunch…. We took Khaleesi.
Look at the lovely autumnal display at the fireplace. So pretty.
We sat in the outdoor area which is filled in at the sides when the weather cools down, with lovely, warm heaters and blankets.
I had the breakfast taco and Craig had spicy buttermilk chicken pieces…. Turns out they were VERY spicy.
Khaleesi was great and was fascinated by 3 birds that were wandering around!
We may have brought some cakes home!!
I now feel tired…. And sick 😂 we never had anything like this sweet in Turkey. My gums are recoiling from my teeth after eating that 😂
So yeah, no more sunshine, plenty of grey sky and rain and a horrific forecast for tomorrow.
It’s always sad when a holiday is over but I have some amazing photos and some lovely memories of my trip with Gayle.
A quiet night in tonight before I crash out. I can feel my eyes drooping already.
And still a lot of dogs. 🐶🐶🐶🐶
Stay safe everyone 🐶🐶🐶🐶
For those of you who know me well, you will know that I’m already pre-sad about having to head home tonight. Craig knows that I love him and knows that I am looking forward to seeing him, but I am so sad to be leaving this incessant sunshine. Wall to wall sun for 7 days…. It’s been glorious.
I am truly in my element in the sunshine. I’m vitamin D’d up to the eyeballs.
I love the clothes I’ve brought to wear, I’ve felt comfortable in everything, in fact I’ll go so far as to say, I’ve felt great in everything.
I usually spend a holiday over indulging and I feel fat and frumpy in everything. I’m bigger than I ever was on holiday, when I was younger, and I just do not care at all.
I love the sunshine, I thrive in the sunshine. I can’t get enough of the blue sky. I can’t get enough of the sea.
I’m not a lover of the beach as such… sand disturbs my need for cleanliness…. But I love the sea. A beach deck is my idea of heaven. We’ve been lucky enough to enjoy this beach deck for most of the week.
Yesterday was a lot. I chose it, I wanted it but even for me, it was a lot in one day. we had about 4 hours driving in Turkey before we even thought about the boat over the Greece. I’m still glad we went but I’m not sure I’d commit to that big a trek on a future holiday…. She says 😂 I just wanted to use two country emojis 😂🇹🇷🚐⛴️🇬🇷🚶🏽♀️🚶🏽♀️⛴️🇹🇷
We have another 9 or 10 hours of travelling tonight, which seems a lot after yesterday. We get home at 2am Scottish time which will be 4am Turkish time. Least we should sleep on the plane.
It’s lovely to be back on the beach deck today. I’m not reading, I’m not listening to music. We’re chatting but other than that I’m just listening to the sound of the sea under the deck…. And obviously writing this.
We’ve got on great. No hassle, no stress, very similar likes and dislikes. I wouldn’t have said anything if we hadn’t… but it’s important for me to say that we did. I’m not great in company 24/7…. I need my space. I think when you come in holiday with a husband or partner, you make assumptions about how they feel, what they like and dislike all the time. You put words in their mouths, you don’t always like to do the same things… we’ve just settled into a way of life here that suits us both. We had no pre-conceived ideas. We just went with the flow and it seemed to click. Overall you are probably way more polite to another person that you are with your partner. No snapping…. Note to self Julesie 😂😘
Being all inclusive was probably pointless but it’s allowed us to have what we want, when we wanted it and not had to think about paying as we go. It cost what it cost.
The hotel is beautiful. Big bungalow style rooms with a huge reception area, a shopping mall, 2 pools, flumes, huge restaurant (with outside balcony) and the one night a la carte.
The local “town” is not my favourite. It’s just full of shops with knock off sports gear. One is called English Primark, one of called TK Max and one is called JDe Sports to name a few. We don’t feel we need to buy anything as the world is smaller now and we can get things just as cheaply at home. I wouldn’t rush back to this area. We both saw what Bodrum has to offer, as we left the boat yesterday and Gayle reckons, any resort that has cruise ships is likely to have much better facilities. The restaurants were everywhere in Bodrum, with fantastic shopping scattered through them.
This hotel has done everything we needed it to do… gave us a chance for a relaxed week away in the sunshine. I’m so grateful to have been able to do this. I’m very lucky that Craig doesn’t fancy Turkey and allows me to come away with my friend.
We had to be out of our room by 12 and turns out our neighbours had organised a golf buggy for their luggage so we hopped on that!!
I’m pre-sad we’re about to go for our last lunch but I’m looking forward to a lovely salad.
And now we have precisely 4 hours left in the sunshine. Current view!
I’ve been in the sea and need to go in one last time!! I totally count everything down by “the last time”…. Torturing myself 😂😂
The last pirate ship parade….
It’s 3.15pm now and I feel I should put this out rather continue the countdown. I am looking forward to being back home. Once the sun goes down I’ll get over the fact that this might be the last heat I feel on my skin until March or April 😱😱😱
Turkey you have been everything I needed and more. Thanks to Gayle for coming with me as I’m absolutely certain I wouldn’t have enjoyed it anywhere near as much on my own.
Stay safe everyone 🇹🇷✈️🏴
It’s 5.30 when the alarm goes off but we were both awake earlier….. we have to be in reception for 6.15 as we’re taking a day trip to Kos, Greece 🇬🇷
It’s very early when you’ve not surfaced much before 8am but my sense of adventure is tingling. I’m excited about my day. Through tired eyes! 😂
A picture of a massive lake we pad on the way there taken through the bus’ very dirty windows.
The bus journey is almost 2 hours from our hotel to Bodrum. That’s why we left at 6.15am.
Bodrum is beautiful. Would really have loved some time to spent some time here. There is A lot of money in the harbour… some very expensive boats.
Craig’s says I’ve to bring this wee guy home!
He sat on my foot. 😂
Check the size of the Virgin Atlantic cruise ship in the background.
Kos. 🇬🇷
So the only negative of the trip was it took us about 1 hour 45 minutes between docking in Kos and actually getting out into Kos Town. I think we sat on the boat for about an hour before we got off as they said passport control had reached capacity. It’s a long day with a 4 hour bus journey, to be stuck for that length of time getting into the country.
That said, Kos Town is beautiful and I’m really glad I got to see it.
We stopped for lunch straight away as we hadn’t eaten much. We were in a lovely, leafy, roadside cafe bar.
Check the sign I’m pointing to!
We went for a walk around the old town. It’s really pretty with quaint wee shopping streets.
We wandered round to check the beach…. It’s tiny pebbles but really clear water.
Passport control was so much faster when we left. Only took about 10-15 minutes to clear. We were on the boat about an hour early as a result.
Our Turkish boat leaving Greece 🇬🇷
The blue dot shows where we are in relation to home!
Sailing back into Bodrum.
That Virgin Atlantic cruise ship is enormous!
After cleaning passport control in Turkey in about 20 minutes, we are finally on our way back to the hotel. Don’t think we’ll be there much before 9pm. A long day. I’m glad we got to see Kos but with hindsight it really was a bit too much of a trek in one day. I’d love to go back and visit sometime.
Thanks so much to Gayle for indulging me on this trip.
I’m too tired to spellcheck so sorry for any errors 😂😂
Stay safe everyone 🇹🇷☀️🇬🇷
I had the best sleep!!! The neighbours still came back in at 2.30am and put the tv on but I went straight back to sleep. It was soooo good.
There was another lovely sunset last night.
We had a lovely Chinese meal at the pre booked a la carte restaurant last night. The food was amazing.
I tried to get this selfie standing on a hill but I look tiny next to Gayle, it would have been a lovely photo if we could have been at the same height! 😂
We were lucky enough to have this stunning view from our table.
The restaurant was lovely too.
And the food was just so good.
We both really enjoyed it… it was much cooler last night and we could have done with a jumper. I think the summer season is ending now as it was much cooler this morning too….. yet back to scorching as I lie here on my sunbed writing this.
Here I am this morning in my lemon loungewear…. 🤦🏻♀️😂😂😂 sweatshirt needed outside this morning.
We had a slightly later breakfast… this is the spectacular view.
and a pirate ship from a different location 😂😂😂
So we had a different morning today where we sat by the pool. It’s a completely different dynamic and a new view!
The pool was FREEZING. I didn’t expect it to be so cold. I had a good swim round it though.
We had lunch in the snack bar today but headed back down to the beach for Gayle’s favourite waffles and my favourite chocolate wrap thing…. Here is the lovely lady who makes them for us every day.
Her face lights up when she sees us. I would like her to be my Turkish gran…. So rude of me to believe she is old enough. On the first day we ordered way too much and we all laughed and she zipper her lips as if to say, telling no-one. 😂
View from the beach snack bar.
I had a lovely float in the sea after that. It’s so lovely in there. Then some woman went and fed the fish and I had to keep treading water until she was finished. Didn’t want to swim right though a fish feeding frenzy!!
Then there was a wee bit of drama as clouds of smelly, black smoke billowed out of the kitchens.
It went on for a wee while and was really smelly. So lucky it didn’t get any worse than that. Everyone was watching, even those in the sea.
It’s half 5 Turkish time so it’s a bit cooler now.. I may not have applied the sun tan lotion as liberally as other days oopsie. The sun is beautiful.
These pics were taken just outside the most scenic toilet I’ve ever been to 😂😂😂
Bored yet?!? 😂😂
Snapped at work!!!
Stay safe everyone 🇹🇷🌅🇹🇷
We were in bed early last night with a plan to go for a long walk this morning. I couldn’t get to sleep for the Turkish women chattering next door 😂😂 (we actually think they might be German!£ then got woken at 2.10am by the folk coming back on the other side! Then wide awake reading at 5.30am. Just as well I could sleep all day if I had to. 😂 I then heard the 6am Islamic call to prayer! The hotel is really quiet to be honest and I’ve slept through every other night. 😂 could have been the late Turkish coffee 😂
We were in breakfast earlier than usual. a lovely view from our table.
Now that we’ve found out you can sit outside, our meals have a much nicer ambience than sitting in the huge, bright canteen style restaurant. I managed some food snaps!
I didn’t eat breakfast but had some lovely Turkish coffee.
We sent off into Didim Altinkum for our walk. It was still nice and cool to start off with. It’s lovely to walk to where we have been looking over from our beach deck out in the sea.
The flag is MASSIVE!!
None of the shops were really open and the cafe bars were just starting to open up. There were gardeners out ripping all the marigold flowers out of all the flower displays all the way along the front. They obviously think the summer season is over! There were Turkish people walking with handfuls of marigolds as they could see they were all being pulled up.
The end of the street still has some flowers.
Here’s the very marbley hotel reception!
Then we went for a seocndlate breakfast as by this time I was STARVING!
It’s been lovely to do something a wee bit different this morning. We’re back in our usual spot on the beach deck for the rest of the day.
We did have ice cream and booked a wee trip for Wednesday!
The temperatures at this time of the year are just perfect for me. It said 23°C when we came up from the beach just now. I don’t need much hotter than that to be honest!
Oh just remembered that I saw the strangest thing on our walk last night….. a row of stars that seemed to be following each other and gradually one by one disappeared. It was the strangest thing! I looked it up when we got back to the room.
Who knew?!?!
I’m still loving the no stress, no worry, no drama, just relaxation….. and of course, the beautiful blue sky and sunshine. Missing my boy and the puppers though. 🧔🏻♂️🐶🐶🐶🐶
Stay safe everyone ☀️🇹🇷☀️
It’s been another beautiful day in the life of a sunbather. Nothing else for it but to lie by the sea, watch the Didim/Altinkum pirate ships sails by and read.
It’s been a bit more cloudy and windy today but it’s still scorching. Factor 30 is doing a great job and despite 2.5 days out in the sun, neither of us have burned.
We caught a lovely sunset by the pool last night.
We went out for a walk into Didim Altinkum last night. The hotel looks lovely.
The streets are pretty quiet to be honest. It must be the season, suits me obviously but even I notice it was quiet.
I think this is us looking back to the lights of the hotel and the beach deck! Lovely moon too.
We had breakfast on the Panorama terrace and headed back down to the beach deck for the day. This was our home for the day!
We had a fancy bed decoration when we got back to our room!
Coffee (not decaf! 😂) and chocolate for a pre dinner snack, showered and back down for sunset. We literally made it with about a minute to spare. The photos don’t do it justice at all. It was absolutely stunning.
The sun was actually a giant, blood red ball in the sky.
Just had dinner and went for a walk…another lovely end to a lovely day!!
It’s so good to have nothing to think about, nothing to worry about, I’m still fasting, I’m eating plenty and having the best relaxing time…. With a very lovely friend….. While talking the hind legs off a donkey. 😂
Stay safe everyone ☀️🇹🇷☀️
The Rambling Sloth 🦥 